Metabolism of the phthalocyanine textile dye remazol turquoise blue by phanerochaete chrysosporium

The ability of a strain of Phanerochaete chrysosporium to decolourise the commercially important copper-phthalocyanine dye Remazol turquoise blue was investigated. The fungus was found to completely decolourise the dye at a concentration of 200 mg l(-1) within 7 days. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and polarographic analysis of culture supernatants indicated that degradation of the dye structure was occurring with the detection of one major organic breakdown product and the release of up to 50% dye-bound copper into culture supernatants during decolourisation. Biosorption of copper to the fungal biomass was found to occur during the initial stages of dye decolourisation.